According to his official itinerary, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to join thousands of fans at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium as Spain and Argentina battle it out in the much-anticipated final game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but as yet, there’s no word on whether he’s also aiming for a sideline tête-à-tête with United States President Donald Trump in the wake of his threat to hit Canada with a fresh wave of tariffs over the “filthy, polluted and unhealthy air” that has drifted south of the border from wildfires in Northern Ontario.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein,” Trump noted on Truth Social on Friday.

He accused Canada of having “refused to engage in basic forest management and debris removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result,” and described it as “willful negligence … costing the United States billions of dollars,” which “must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS (sic) Canada is currently paying.”

Speaking with Global News shortly after the post went up, U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra “defended the president’s position,” but “would not say how large any potential tariffs could be or what legal mechanism the administration might use to impose them,” and warned of “potential consequences if we don’t get to a resolution,” the network notes.

Although he hasn’t publicly addressed Trump’s comments, Carney posted an update on the ongoing wildfires on Saturday, and promised that Canada “is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach” to what he described as “one of the most intense wildfire seasons in Canadian history.”

For her part, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski released a statement outlining the “long history” of Canada and the United States “working together to fight wildfires on both sides of the border,” including during last year’s fires in Los Angeles, “when Canada deployed airtankers and more than 60 personnel to the United States.”

Back in the capital, Carney is widely expected to be readying the paperwork to trigger the first of the six and counting by-elections that are expected to be held before the end of the year, although it’s worth noting that, as of today, three of the ridings on track to be vacant by the fall are still technically occupied.

Over the weekend, the Liberal Party announced that Carney’s now former deputy chief of staff, Braeden Caley, will be carrying the party banner in North Vancouver – Capilano, B.C., which was previously held by former Liberal MP Jonathan Wilkinson, who stepped down in June to take up his new post as Canada’s ambassador to the European Union, while Tanveer Shahnawaz edged out three other local hopefuls to become the party’s candidate-in-waiting in Beaches — East York, Ont., where he’s already clocked in several years running former Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine Smith’s constituency office.

Depending on the timing, those byelections could take place as early as Aug. 24.

Carney, premiers descend on Charlottetown

Later this week, Carney will be heading to Charlottetown for his first in-person, face-to-face huddle with his fellow first ministers since they descended on Ottawa for a one-day meet-up in January. (Thursday) 

As is standard practice, no formal agenda for the talks has been released, but it’s a good bet that the day-long discussions will once again focus on Canada – U.S. relations — and particularly, if not necessarily exclusively, the ongoing cross-border standoff over tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as the latest developments in the newly launched review of the Canada – U.S. — Mexico trade pact.

During a virtual catch-up session with provincial and territorial premiers in June, Carney “underscored Canada’s new government’s commitment to protecting Canadian workers and businesses and providing certainty to investors,” and “reaffirmed the importance of a united Team Canada approach,” according to the recap put out by his office.

He also “commended the premiers on their trade missions to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and underscored that this is a Team Canada effort in action,” and offered a preview of his then-upcoming trips to France, Ireland and the now-wrapped G7 leaders’ summit in Ankara, which “will further deepen Canada’s partnerships across trade, defence, and technology, bringing more opportunities to Canadian workers and businesses,” the readout noted.

Before retreating behind closed doors with Carney, the premiers will hold their annual summer meeting, which, according to the advisory put out by Prince Edward Island Premier and current Council of the Federation president Rob Lantz, will focus on “health, affordability, sovereignty and national security, Canada-U.S. relations, international and internal trade, economic growth and public safety.” (Tuesday through Wednesday)

During a back-and-forth with media last week, B.C. Premier David Eby served notice that he intends to tell the prime minister that “no trade deal with the U.S. is better than a bad one,” Canadian Press reports.

“Eby said in an interview on Friday that B.C. had been consistent in holding that any agreement that entrenched current U.S. tariffs on key industries like softwood lumber would be worse than the status quo,” the wire service notes.

“He said softwood must be a ‘key part’ of any resolution, and Carney should continue to ‘hold the line,’ suggesting other countries that rushed into deals had come out worse off.”

More movement on the midsummer ministerial circuit:

• A quartet of Team Carney frontbenchers — Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, Defence Minister David McGuinty and Secretary of State (Defence Procurement) Stephen Fuhr — will be making the rounds at the biennial Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, U.K., with all four ministers slated to speak at the the “official opening” of the Canada Pavilion, and Defence Investment Agency CEO Doug Guzman also expected to be in attendance. (Monday a.m.)
• According to his office, McGuinty will also join unnamed “international partners” for an announcement on “advancing air combat capability development” at the Wellington Barracks in London. (Tuesday p.m.)
• Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand aims to “strengthen Indo-Pacific partnerships” during a four-day trek that will start with what her office notes will be the “first visit of a Canadian foreign minister to Pakistan in almost 20 years,” where she’s scheduled to meet with both her Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to “discuss strengthening relations, including bilateral ties and trade and investment” before travelling to Manila for two days of high-level talks with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (Monday through Thursday)
• Back in Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Diab and fellow Halifax-area Liberal MP Shannon Miedema will “highlight the Canada Child Benefit’s more generous support for families” during a joint media availability at an unnamed location somewhere in the city. (Monday a.m.)
• Justice Minister Sean Fraser teams up with Pictou County Warden Robert Parker to promote fresh federal infrastructure funding during an afternoon visit to Salem Presbyterian Church in Green Hill, N.S. (Monday p.m.)
• Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin starts the week in Windsor, where, according to her office, she’ll provide a status update on the proposed new urban park that, as the advisory notes, would be the “second in the country.” (Monday a.m.)
• She’ll also drop by the Windsor offices of Ready Set Go, a local family service agency, where she, too, will promote the newly increased and expanded Canada Child Benefit, with Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez on deck to deliver a similar message during a morning visit to Northview Advent Child Care in North York, Ont., accompanied by fellow Toronto-area Liberals Chi Nguyen and Vince Gasparro. (Monday a.m.)
• Rounding out the roster, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson will mark a “significant milestone for energy infrastructure in British Columbia” at a mid-morning event in Prince George, B.C. (Monday a.m.)

Also on the radar: Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne, who also serves as chair of the Global Privacy Assembly, will present this year’s Privacy and Human Rights Award — which, as per the notice, is a “joint initiative” of GPA and Access Now — to the Electronic Health Information Network at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute, which, along with its founder, Khaled El Emam, “are being recognized for pioneering work in privacy-enhancing technologies that enables health systems, researchers, and artificial intelligence developers to use data while protecting individuals’ privacy, dignity, autonomy and safety.” (Monday a.m.)

The Canadian Mental Health Association hosts a virtual briefing session on the “future of Canada’s bilateral health agreements” — and, more specifically, the “major federal investment in mental health and substance abuse health services” that, according to the notice, “is se to expire next spring,” which could put “critical programs across Canada at risk if funding isn’t renewed in this fall’s federal budget.” (Thursday p.m.)